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Three-steps response to animal bites

Because animals carry a lot of different
bacteria or viruses in their mouth and saliva, bites from animals to
people can cause infections or other serious health problems
if not taken care of promptly. While every animal bite
can be different in terms of severity, here are the 3 basic
steps to take if bitten by an animal.

1.
Washing/disinfecting the wound:

The first
thing to do is to wash the
wound thoroughly with soap
and water. This must
be done immediately after
the bite occurs to help
remove bacteria and viruses
from the wound.
Disinfect the wound with
alcohol, peroxide or a safe
antiseptic made for skin.
Cover the wound with a
bandage to protect it from
more contamination.

2.
Consult your physician:

A bite
from any animal should be
assessed by your physician.
He/she will decide if
antibiotics, a tetanus
booster, treatment to
prevent rabies, or any other
treatments are needed. Note
that rabies can be
transmitted by very small
bites from bats in our
county - even bites that do
not bleed.

Some
bites can push germs very deep
under
the skin and cannot be
thoroughly cleaned without
medical help. This
is especially true of bites
from cats or rodents.

3. Report
the bite to Veterinary Public Health:

Anyone
with knowledge of an animal
bite to a person should
report it to our office, except
for
bites from: small rodents (e.g. rats,
mice, squirrels), rabbits,
reptiles and birds. Bites
from those animals do not
transmit rabies (but they
can still spread other
germs).

Your
physician may
report the bite to
our program. However,
residents may also report
bites directly to us or
their local animal control
agency. Follow this
link for our online bite
reporting portal. Our goal
is to evaluate the risk of
rabies being spread by the
bite.

More information about animal
bites and rabies risk in Los Angeles County: